Some importers ask a sourcing agency for help, but they keep interfering. They show suppliers that they are the ones taking the decisions. Then what happens? Suppliers don’t listen to the sourcing agency any more.
Make sure that your sourcing partner is involved in all decisions (you pay for their professional advice, right?), and that your suppliers know that.
A sourcing agency should work for you, the buyer. You don’t want to outsource your sourcing to a supplier’s sales rep, right?
You should be briefed every time they visit your manufacturers. This is how you will know if they do their job correctly:
If they only report on production status when a shipment is delayed, you should ask for regular updates.
If they fail to notice some quality issues, you should request them to arrange a professional third-party inspector (at least for final random inspections) instead of their own staff. It might be a bit more expensive, but can you afford the risk of receiving products that you can’t use/sell?
If a sourcing agent is watching for your interests on the ground, you can purchase directly from a manufacturer, right?
Well, not always. If you import small quantities, large manufacturers will seldom be interested in your business. They have English-speaking staff and an export license. You purchase maybe 0.5% of their output.
In this case, trading companies might be the right solution to place production in smaller workshops. And the price (including the trader’s margin) will often be lower than with large factories.
When you evaluate sourcing agencies, try to understand how they work. Request to see their order management system (if any). Even better, ask for examples of factory visit reports and product QC checklists.
If they are specialized in one industry and they use their network to decide on a manufacturer, ask about their previous experience, if any, with the manufacturer(s) they are considering for your orders. If they don’t want to show you past QC reports in that same factory, there is a problem.
You might also want to know if several in-process inspections will be conducted, and if and a back-up supplier will be lined up.
Some importers don’t have the expertise, or the time, to find and manage manufacturing partners in China. They need help from an external sourcing agency to handle these tasks:
Identifying, screening, and qualifying new suppliers;
Help in developing new products/styles with suppliers;
Ongoing management of the supplier relationships, including quality control and shipments followup.
I listed below the 10 most common mistakes to avoid.
Even the best sourcing agency will have a hart time getting you low prices, on-time shipments, and consistently great quality. If someone promises this to you, you are not talking to a professional.
Know what is most important to you, and plan accordingly. For example, if you absolutely need on-time and high-quality products, then you cannot work with the cheapest manufacturers.
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